A familiar pulsated heat woke Joe from his slumber.
“Dah!” He shrieked. Had his frail body been limber like it was in his younger years, he would have sprung up, but instead he blinked his eyes a few times to reorient himself. A soft grey blur lay only steps in front of him and as his eyes adjusted to the warm sunlight, he made the object out to be his hat. It was neatly embedded in the dark sand, propped up as if to present itself to him. Joe flexed and extended his fingers repeatedly to get the blood flowing back into them before pushing himself up onto all fours. Outstretching one hand, he reached for his hat and shook it off. Stray pieces of the dark sand scattered in all directions. A gentle gust of wind, a warmer one this time, came and carried the grains gently away. Joe flinched at the sight of the wind but as he saw its small tail float off into the distance, he breathed a sigh of relief. And there, there in front of him, was the tiny box. Nestled in the black sand, it pulsed, a tiny blue object glowing inside.
“HAHAHAHA!” Joe’s laughter bounced off of the wall of stone to the side of him, the everlasting sound then carried away by an outgoing wave. Joe bent down and scooped up the small box as he fell to his knees again. He turned it over from one side to the next, admiring the mystery it had encapsulated inside. It pulsed, but this time it was kind to him. There was silence all around Joe, except for the soothing sounds of the waves crashing into the sand, the only witnesses to what had just unfolded. He had done it. He would bring her a piece of iceberg. It was after all, all she had really wanted.
